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Friday, June 29, 2012

Author Interview: Sherry D. Ramsey

Sherry D. Ramsey

Q: What sparked the idea for your
story in Unearthed?
Can you remember?

A:
I think this was my third attempt at a story that would fit the theme
for Unearthed!
My story involves two characters who go geocaching, an activity which
my family really enjoys. And geocaching is all about unearthing
hidden things, so it all seemed to fit together nicely. Of course,
we've never found quite what these characters find...

Q: What's the
title of your story in Unearthed?
In general, do you get the title first, or do you write the story
first? Do you remember what prompted this particular title?

A: The title of my story is pretty simple: “The Cache.” I usually
have a title pretty early on in the writing process, and sometimes
I've had a whole story grow out of a title. This one just came
attached to the story idea from the outset.

Q: Please tell
us: one book you've read recently, one book you're reading now, and
one book on your to-read list.

A: I recently read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, which
actually lived up to the hype that seemed to surround it (I listened
to the audiobook version, read by Wil Wheaton, and it was very
entertaining). Currently I'm reading (among other things) The Art
of War for Writers by James Scott Bell, and I'd definitely
recommend it for fellow writers. I have a HUGE to-read pile, but near
the top is Stephen King's 11/22/63. I've always been
fascinated by this piece of history, so combining it with time travel
makes it irresistible to me.

Q: What are
you working on now, or what's your next planned writing project?

A: I'm usually juggling a number of projects, but once Unearthed
is launched I hope to turn my attention to some final edits on a
novel manuscript and finishing a few stories that are cluttering up
my hard drive in various states of disarray.

Q: Have you
ever read something and thought, “I wish I'd written that!”? What
was it?

A: Yes! One was a science fiction short story in a book I had borrowed
from the library (possibly one of the Nebula Award collections), with
a title something like “The Girl With the Green Earrings”--except
that wasn't it, because I've never been able to find it again. So
maybe that wasn't the title, but there was definitely a girl in it,
and her earrings were important. It haunts me, because I'd really
love to re-read it and try to figure out exactly what I thought was
so perfect about it. If you think you might know what story I
mean...please email me!